An online journal of Mannie Gentile, a National Park Service Park Ranger working on the National Mall in our nation's capital.
DISCLAIMER: please note that this blog represents only my views and not those of the National Park Service.
Feel free to email me at: museumofamerica@myactv.net

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The loss of a drinking buddy

It was bound to happen, its just the completion of the great circle.

He showed up on my porch last September. A good listener, with a shared interest in 20th Century combat helmets, and Budweiser.

I wonder now if "the king of beers" may have been his undoing. Its not for me to judge. He chose his rough-and -tumble outdoor lifestyle. To call him "homeless" would have been patronizing. The outdoors was his home, and he was clearly the master of his natural domain. Most of his peers were terrified of him, and for good reason.

He was a killer, cold-blooded and instinctive, this I knew and accepted.

There was something so compelling about his poise, and athletic grace that captivated me. I was also won over by his trust in me and his acceptance of my hospitality, and oh, how we did merrily hoist more than a few steins as the evenings grew shorter.

But now, that's all in the past.

This afternoon my wife found him, or at least the mortal remains of him under an icy shroud in the bushes of our sun porch.

Had he been trying to return for one final round? Or had he simply been there, all along, unnoticed?

All is dust.

May the great hunter rest in peace.

Click here for a YouTube of he and I in happier times (then it'll all make sense).

6 comments:

desolationdan.blogspot.com/..just created a Blog...Definitly love what you have created online bud...I quit drinking a long time ago but up on the hill or in my yard after gardening a Guiness Stout sure hits the spot..

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I'm a Park Ranger on the National Mall in Washington DC. I'm very proud and fortunate to be working at such a significant place and to be sharing this magnificent resource with visitors from around the world.

About Mannie

I'm fortunate to have married the love of my life. In that, I am a very lucky fellow. Otherwise I live in Washington County in western Maryland in a little house on the shoulder of South Mountain.
Other stuff from me here: http://manniesartimitateslife.blogspot.com/